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To  Julia  Beatrice  Metcalf, 

the  eldest  of  the  family,  whose  generous  love, 
ivithotU  the  knowledge  of  her  parents,  planned 
the  observance  of  their  golden  wedding;  whose 
many  Christian  virtues,  unseen  charities,  and 
benign  influence  in  the  home  circle  and  society, 
bless  and  purify  life;  whose  love  for  father, 
7)tother,  and  family  is  only  limited  by  her  devo- 
tion to  God,  this  little  vohime  is  most  affection- 
ately dedicated  by  the  author  and  compiler. 


281051 


Believing  that  family  life,  with  its  joys  and  sorrows; 
its  separations  and  reunions;  its  devoted  love  and  un- 
selfish sacrifices — is  a  heavenly  type  of  "things  not  seen  :" 
believing  that  the  simple  word  Home  embraces  all  that  is 
most  sacred  to  the  human  heart,  and  that  to  strengthen  its 
holy  influences  is  to  elevate  human  character :  believing 
that  mercies  received  from  the  "Giver  of  all  good  gifts" 
should  be  gratefully  acknowledged  :  therefore  is  this  little 
volume  written  and  sent  forth  to  the  loving  hearts  of  the 
family  circle,  who  have  just  cause  for  joy  and  gratitude 
in  the  preservation  and  union  of  two  most  precious  lives 
through  the  past  fifty  years. 

If  their  examples  of  faithfulness  and  courage  prove  an 
incentive  to  others,  and  strengthen  hearts  often  ready  to 
despair,  then  has  this  simple  narrative  fulfilled  its  humble 
mission. 


On  the  evening  of  January  29,  18S9,  at  the  country 
residence  of  Col.  Samuel  Hall,  near  Mt.  Vernon,  Ohio, 
the  near  relatives  and  friends  of  the  family  gathered  as 
spectators  of  an  event  full  of  interest  to  all,  and  of  hapjji- 
ness  to  two,  who  were  present  to  be  made  one,  according 
to  God's  ordinance,  for  all  time  to  come. 

The  father  and  mother  of  the  bride,  well  advanced  in 
years,  gave  a  reluctant  consent  to  part  from  their  daughter 
whose  life  and  happiness  they  hesitated  to  confide  to  the 
care  of  a  young  man  whom  they  had  only  known  a  short 
time,  and  who  had  no  means  of  support  save  the  profession 
on  which  he  had  just  entered. 

The  bride  was  fair,  tall,  and  graceful ;  added  to  a  nat- 
ural dignity,  she  had  just  enough  of  culture  to  improve 
gifts  which  were  embellished,  but  could  never  have  been 
created  by  art. 

The  groom  was  not  only  young,  but  reckless  in  assuming 
the   responsibilities  of  married  life  without  a  dollar,  de- 


8 

pending  upon  the  vincertain  iueouie  of  an  untried  profes- 
sion to  support  a  wife,  whom  he  was  about  to  deprive  of 
all  the  comforts  of  a  well-ordered  home.  But  he  was  so 
infatuated  that  the  future  had  no  place  in  his  thoughts. 
He  did  not  stop  to  consider  earthly  things.  The  experi- 
ment was  full  of  danger.  His  days  had  been  passed  in 
school,  and  in  a  law  office  among  the  text-books,  so  that 
in  case  of  a  failure  in  his  profession  he  could  not  fall  back 
on  a  trade  or  any  experience  at  manual  labor. 

Thus  it  was,  oblivious  to  all  else  save  the  enchanting- 
spell  of  love,  John  F.  Kinney  led  to  the  altar  Hannah  D. 
Hall,  and  they  were  married  by  a  man  of  God.  The  even- 
ing was  clear  and  beautiful;  the  stars  were  bright,  and 
seemed  joyous;  the  full  moon,  in  unclouded  splendor,  ap- 
peared to  join  with  minister  and  pious  parents  in  their 
blessing  and  benediction. 

And  now,  after  fifty  years  of  wedded  life,  through  the 
mercies  of  God,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  health,  they  are 
permitted  to  celebrate  their  golden  wedding,  surrounded 
by  children  and  grandchildren,  whose  congratulations  of 
tender  love  shed  a  sweet  frag-rance  over  their  lives. 


John  Fitch  Kinney  was  born  in  New  Haven,  Oswego 
county,  N.  Y.,  on  the  2d  day  of  April,  1816,  and  was  the 
fourth  child  and  second  son  of  Dr.  Stephen  F.  Kinney  and 
Abby  Brockway,  who,  during  the  preceding  winter,  re- 
moved from  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  and  settled  in  the 
wilderness  county  of  Oswego.  The  only  houses  in  New 
Haven  at  that  time  were  log-houses,  and  in  one  of  them 
the  son  was  born.  His  father  was  born  in  Worthington, 
Mass.,  January  22,  1789,  was  educated  at  Hamilton  Col- 
lege, studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Fitch,  who  also  married  a 
Brockway,  and  who  was  one  of  the  most  skillful  physi- 
cians and  surgeons  of  his  day.  After  practicing  medicine 
in  Oswego  county  for  twenty-five  years.  Dr.  Kinney  re- 
moved to  Marysville,  Ohio,  where  his  son  was  then  living. 
At  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-five  he  died,  having  been  for 
more  than  half  a  century  an  earnest  Christian  man. 

Abby  Brockway  was  born  in  Ellington,  Conn.,  in  1790, 
the  daughter  of  Kev.  Thomas  Brockway,  a  Presbyterian 


10 

divine  of  great  attainments,  and  the  author  of  a  remarkable 
book  entitled  the  "Gospel  Tragedy,"  an  epic  poem  of  rare 
value.  Rev.  Brockway  preached  to  one  congregation  for 
fifty  years,  and  died  while  a  pastor  of  the  church  where  he 
began  his  work.  Those  who  trace  their  lineage  to  "Grand- 
father Brockway"  feel  an  honest  })ride  that  they  are  able 
even  remotely,  to  claim  descent  from  so  great  and  good  a 
man.  His  daughter  Abby,  wife  of  Dr.  Kinney,  died  in 
New  Haven,  N.  Y.,  in  1824,  leaving  a  family  of  seven 
children,  the  eldest  fifteen  years  old,  the  youngest  but  a 
few  weeks.  These,  with  great  composure,  she  called 
around  her  in  her  dying  hour,  and  committed  them  in 
prayer  to  the  care  of  the  Heavenly  Father.  The  loss  of  a 
Cliristian  mother  is  a  sad  affliction.  No  love  equal  to 
hers — none  so  boundless.  No  one  can  fill  the  vacant  place. 
Three  sons  and  four  daughters,  as  time  wore  on,  more  and 
more  lamented  her  death.  The  sons  still  live:  Elislia  M. 
Kinney,  of  Kenosha,  Wisconsin ;  John  Fitch,  of  Nebraska 
City,  Neb. ;  and  Lathrop  B.,  of  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 
Only  one  daughter  survives — Mrs.  Eliza  S.  Jewett,  of 
Waterville,  N.  Y. 

The  means  for  education  in  the  early  settlement  of 
Western  New  York  were  very  limited,  being  confined  in 
the  country  to  the  public  schools.  To  these  John  was  sent 
until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  when  Joel  T.  Headley, 
since  distinguished  as  an  author,  opened  a  i)rivate  school 
in  New  Haven,  M'hich  he  attended.  After  six  months  in 
that  school,  he  was  sent  to  Hamiibal,  N.  Y.,  to  a  private 
school,  and  after  one  year  there  he  entered  the  "Rensselaer 
Oswego  Academy,"  where  he  studied  for  two  years  the 
languages  and   higher  branches  of  mnthcmatics.     Forty 


11 

years  after  his  connection  with  the  academy  there  was  a 
reunion  of  the  old  pupils  and  teachers  on  the  classic  ground 
of  their  alma  mater,  which  brought  together  many  hun- 
dreds, embracing  lawyers,  judges,  authors,  ministers,  and 
law-makers,  the  occasion  being  the  semi-centennial  cele- 
bration of  the  opening  of  the  academy.  Mr.  Kinney  was 
made  president  of  this  convention. 

After  his  two  years  at  the  academy  he  commenced  the 
study  of  law  with  Hon.  Orvillo  Robinson,  in  Mexico,  N. 
Y.,  and  after  two  years  and  a  half  study  bade  farewell  to 
his  native  state  and  started  westward,  landing  in  Marys- 
ville,  Ohio,  in  September,  1837.  Here  he  fell  in  with 
Augustus  Hall,  a  young  lawyer  from  Batavia,  N.  Y., 
with  whom  he  read  law  one  year,  and  was  then  admitted 
before  the  court  in  Banc  at  Columbus.  Through  Augustus 
Hall  he  became  acquainted  with  his  sister  Hannah,  whom 
he  married  on  the  29th  day  of  January,  1839. 

Augustus  Hall  was  a  brilliant  lawyer  and  a  great  advo- 
cate. He  removed  to  Iowa  in  1842,  became  prominent  at 
the  bar,  and  in  1854  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  in  1857 
was  appointed  by  Mr.  Buchanan  Chief  Justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Nebraska.  In  January,  1861,  he  died,  while 
in  office.  He  left  two  daughters  and  one  son :  Theodosia 
Burr,  now  Mrs.  Shepherd,  living  in  Ventura,  California; 
Ellen,  now  Mrs.  Enderlien,  living  in  Los  Angeles ;  and 
Richard  S.  Hall,  Esq.,  now  a  prominent  young  lawyer  in 
full  practice  in  Omaha,  Neb. 

In  1840  Mr.  Kinney  settled  in  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio, 
and  soon  succeeded  to  an  active  practice.  In  the  summer 
of  1844  Col.  Hall,  J.  C.  Hall  and  Augustus,  with  their 
families,  having  removed  to  Iowa,  he  followed  them,  and 


12 

landed  at  Fort  ^Madison  in  August.  In  the  spring  of 
1845  he  was  elected  Secretary  of  the  Legislative  Council, 
a  position  he  held  for  two  sessions.  In  1846  he  was  ap- 
pointed Prosecuting  Attorney,  and  in  June,  1847,  then 
only  thirty-one  years  of  age,  he  was  appointed  by  the 
Governor,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  holding  the  office 
by  appointment  until  1848,  when  he  was  elected  in  joint 
convention  of  the  Legislature  for  the  term  of  six  years,  as 
then  provided  in  the  State  Constitution.  His  judicial 
opinions  appear  in  the  first,  second,  third,  and  fourth  vol- 
umes of  G.  Greene's  Iowa  Supreme  Court  Reports. 

In  August,  1853,  Judge  Kinney  was  appointed  by 
President  Pierce,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Utah,  without  being  an  applicant  for  the  office,  nor  desir- 
ing it.  He  hesitated  about  accepting,  nor  did  he  decide  to 
do  so  until  the  meeting  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  January 
when,  by  reason  of  the  feeble  health  of  his  wife,  he, 
announced  to  the  court  and  bar  that,  believing  a  trip 
across  the  plains  would  be  a  benefit  to  her,  he  should 
resign  his  position  on  the  bench,  and  accept  the  place  ten- 
dered him  by  the  President.  On  his  retiring,  the  lawyers 
in  attendance  held  a  formal  meeting,  prepared  a  series 
of  resolutions  which  they  presented  to  the  court,  which 
were  highly  complimentary  to  Judge  Kinney,  and  his 
seven  years'  labor  upon  the  bench  in  shaping  tlie  jurispru- 
dence of  the  state,  and  regretting  that  circumstances  were 
such  as  to  compel  him  to  dissolve  the  pleasant  relations 
which  existed  between  liim  and  the  bar.  These  resolu- 
tions, on  motion,  were  ordered  to  be  spread  upon  the 
records  of  the  court. 

The  vacancy  thus  made  by  Judge  Kinney's  retirement 


13 

was  filled  in  the  appointment  of  J.  C.  Hall,  of  Burling- 
ton, the  senior  brother  of  Augustus  Hall.  Of  him  the 
impartial  biographer  Avell  said,  that  as  a  profound  and 
erudite  lawyer  and  able  jurist  he  had  few  equals  in  the 
Northwest,  and  no  superior.  Judge  Hall  died  in  Bur- 
lington, Iowa,  in  1874,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six.  His  only 
son,  Benton  J.  Hall,  the  present  U.  S.  Commissioner  of 
Patents,  and  late  member  of  Congress  from  Iowa,  has 
succeeded  to  his  father's  great  ability  as  a  lawyer.  His 
eulogy  in  the  House  of  Representatives  upon  the  death  of 
Vice  Pres.  Thomas  J.  Hendricks,  as  a  piece  of  English 
composition,  and  as  a  correct  analysis  of  the  character  and 
life  of  that  great,  good  man,  has  been  pronounced  the 
most  beautiful  and  classic  of  all  the  tributes  paid  to  his 
memory. 

In  the  spring  of  1854  the  journey  to  Salt  Lake  City, 
of  fifteen  hundred  miles  by  private  conveyance,  was  suc- 
cessfully accomplished.  While  en  route  a  son  was  born, 
believed  to  be  the  first  white  child  born  in  Nebraska  after 
it  was  organized  into  a  Territory.  The  monotony  of  the 
journey  was  occasionally  relieved  by  an  "Indian  scare." 
During  the  summer  of  1854,  nearly  every  party  that 
crossed  the  plains  were  attacked  and  suftered  more  or  less 
by  the  hostile  Indians  then  on  the  war  path.  Judge  Kin- 
ney's party  passed  a  number  of  fresh  but  hastily  con- 
structed graves,  Avhere  were  buried  those  who  had  fallen 
in  Indian  attacks  upon  trains,  and  in  one  instance  stoppetl 
and  reburied  the  bones  of  a  person,  which,  by  reason  of 
shallow  burial,  had  been  dug  up  by  the  wolves.  Of  the 
Indian  scares  which  befell  the  party,  one  only  will  be 
mentioned. 
3 


14 

Camped  ou  the  Platte  river  five  hundred  miles  west  of 
the  Missouri  river,  grazing  the  stock  after  a  morning's 
drive,  the  camp  Avas  suddenly  alarmed  by  the  ajipearance 
of  a  war  party  of  about  fifty  Indians  on  a  bluif,  who,  from 
all  appearance,  had  unexpectedly  come  in  sight  of  the 
campers.  They  were  about  a  mile  distant,  and  as  seen 
through  the  field  glass  were  making  preparation  for  an 
attack.  They  dismounted,  took  their  guns  from  the  buck- 
skin covers  and  their  arrows  from  their  quivers,  and  then 
remounted,  and  with  a  frightful  Indian  "war-whoop 
yell,"  started  on  a  full  run  for  the  little  defenceless  party, 
with  the  certainty  of  an  easy  victory,  thereby  adding 
scalps  to  their  belts,  and  gaining  plaudits  for  their  valor. 

In  the  camp  were  twenty-five  men,  all  of  whom  were 
well  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition  when  starting 
out  on  the  journey.  In  the  slow  travel  of  about  fifteen 
miles  each  day,  four  weeks  had  passed  without  having 
seen  an  Indian,  and  they  had  concluded  there  were  no 
more  in  the  country,  and  that  they  had  gotten  beyond  all 
further  danger.  One  man  in  the  party  who  had  crossed 
the  plains,  had  warned  them  that  the  time  would  come 
when  they  least  expected  Indians  they  would  appear,  and 
so  it  proved  to  be.  They  had  also  been  warned  by  emi- 
grants who  had  preceded  them,  by  notes  dropped  along 
the  road,  "Look  out  for  Indians,"  mentioning  fights  and 
loss  of  some  of  their  number;  but  these  warnings,  and 
the  frequent  graves  of  the  killed,  all  failed  to  inspire  a 
wholesome  caution,  sufficient  to  induce  the  men  to  keep 
their  arms  in  order  and  their  ammunition  in  place.  Now, 
when  most  needed,  there  was  not  a  loaded  gun  in  camp, 
nor  could  the  amnuniition  be  found.     Idealizing  their  sit- 


15 

uation,  hoping  to  escape  death  by  concealment,  the  men 
ran  to  their  wag-ons  and  secreted  themselves  behind  boxes 
and  under  blankets.  On  came  the  bloody  fiends,  with 
spear  and  bow,  with  gun  and  battle-axe ;  came  with  the 
fury  of  demons  and  the  ferocity  of  hungry  wolves.  It 
was  a  moment  of  awful  reality.  Mrs.  Kinney  in  her 
ambulance,  with  an  infant  in  her  arms  and  four  other  chil- 
dren closely  nestled  around  her,  calmly  asked  her  husband, 
who  was  standing  by  the  carriage  watching  the  Indians, 
what  he  was  going  to  do.  Inspiration,  rather  than  cour- 
age, prompted  the  reply,  ''  I  am  going  out  to  meet  them." 
George  Zeigle,  a  young  man  of  the  party,  then  said, 
"  Judge,  I  will  go  and  die  by  your  side."  Hastily  thrust- 
ing unloaded  pistols  into  their  belts,  with  a  brave  exterior 
but  with  faltering  hearts,  the  two  marched  out  to  meet 
what  seemed  to  human  eyes  certain  death. 

As  the  men  advanced,  the  Indians  slackened  the  speed 
of  their  ponies,  no  doubt  wondering  what  this  rash  act 
could  mean,  and  as  the  two  came  still  nearer,  apparently 
undaunted,  the  ponies  came  to  a  walk,  and  then  the  war- 
rior chief  dismounted,  walked  a  few  steps  till  he  met 
them,  reached  out  his  hand,  and  gave  the  usual  Sioux  salu- 
tation, "How  !"  Then  the  Chief  Justice  and  his  compan- 
ion breathed  easier,  the  heart  was  relieved  of  its  mighty 
weight,  the  face  resumed  its  natural  color,  the  limbs  were 
stronger,  the  sun  shone  brighter,  and  all  nature  seemed 
clothed  in  more  beautiful  garments  than  a  few  moments 
before.  Tiic  Indians  had  construed  the  hiding  of  the 
men  in  their  wagons  as  a  lodgment  to  shoot  from  cover, 
and  the  approach  of  the  two  white  men  as  a  brave  act, 
which  an  Indian  not  only  admires  but  fears  with  a  super- 


16 

stitious  awe;  and  to  mean  that  the  "captain"  was  willing 
to  offer  his  hand  in  friendship  or  wonld  fight  them,  as  they 
might  prefer. 

The  war  party  was  conducted  into  camp,  where  large 
presents  of  flour,  sugar,  coffee,  bacon,  and  tobacco  were 
given  them.  The  traditionary  pipe  of  peace  was  then 
smoked,  to  the  relief  of  all.  Then  it  was  that  an  Indian, 
in  order  to  emphasize  more  fully  their  character  and  the 
business  they  were  engaged  in,  took  from  a  sack  twenty- 
seven  scalps,  around  which  they  chanted  their  exultant 
song  of  victory. 

It  was  with  great  satisfaction  that  the  little  band  of 
campers  recognized  none  of  their  own  among  them;  but 
in  order  to  make  sure  that  they  were  not  mistaken,  they 
involuntarily  put  their  hands  on  the  tops  of  their  heads, 
and  finding  their  scalps  in  place,  only  wondered,  and 
thanked  God. 

At  length,  after  four  months  of  weary  travel,  the  top  of 
the  last  mountain  was  reached,  and  the  city,  nestling  at  its 
foot  was  seen  in  the  distance.  With  thankful  hearts  for  a 
safe  deliverance,  three  hearty  cheers  were  given  for  the 
city  of  the  plains.  Mrs.  Kinney  was  well  and  could 
walk  up  the  steepest  mountain.  The  child  survived  all 
the  hardships  of  the  journey,  and  still  lives  to  boast  that 
he  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  Nebraska. 

JJrigham  Young  was  then  Governor,  having  been 
appointed  by  Millard  Fillmore.  Judge  Kinney  held  his 
courts  without  intcrru[)tion,  and  administered  the  law 
without  interference.  In  holding  courts  remote  from  the 
city,  an  escort  of  U.  S.  soldiers  was  provide<l  by  Col. 
Steptoe,  as  protection  against  the  Indians.     In  the  spring 


17 

of  1856  the  family  returned  by  private  conveyance  to 
their  home  in  Iowa.  In  the  spring  of  1857  they  removed 
to  Nebraska  City  by  steamboat,  taking  twenty-one  days  to 
make  the  trip  from  St.  Louis. 

In  July,  1860,  while  engaged  in  a  profitable  practice, 
Mr.  Kinney,  without  any  previous  knowledge  of  the  fact, 
was  appointed  by  Mr.  Buchanan  again  Chief  Justice  of 
Utah.  This  came  to  him  as  a  surprise,  as  he  was  not  an 
applicant,  nor  did  he  desire  the  position.  Again  was  the 
overland  journey  performed,  but  by  stage,  involving 
twelve  days  of  continuous  night  and  day  travel.  The 
family  were  left  to  enjoy  the  comforts  of  a  nice  home 
which  had  been  provided  during  the  three  years'  stay  in 
Nebraska  City. 

The  courts  were  again  held  through  the  years  1860-61 
and  spring  of  1862,  when  leave  of  absence  was  obtained 
from  the  President,  and  the  journey  back  to  Nebraska 
City  was  made  by  stage  without  serious  lesults.  The 
tedium  of  the  trip  was  relieved  by  the  coach  being  upset 
in  "Bear  River,"  the  floating  ice  frightening  the  leaders. 
The  body  of  the  coach  became  separated  from  the  running 
gears,  and  the  Judge  and  David  Street,  the  paymaster  of 
the  road,  Avho  had  a  large  amount  of  money  in  a  carpet 
bag,  were  carried  down  stream  at  the  mercy  of  the  rapid 
current  and  floating  ice,  but  were  at  last  rescued  by  the 
driver  throwing  a  rope  to  them. 

The  disagreeable  feature  of  this  incident  was,  that  the 
wet  passengers  lost  their  liats  and  baggage,  and  were 
obliged  to  travel  twenty  miles  with  their  clothing  frozen 
solid,  but  thankful  that  they  did  not  keep  their  hats  and 
baggage  company  down  the  river.      In  Nebraska  City  the 


18 

monotony  of  a  summer  vacation  was  broken  by  a  demo- 
cratic nomination  for  Congress.  According  to  the  returns, 
Mr.  Kinney  was  beaten,  and  again  returned  overland  to 
Utah  to  resume  his  official  duties. 

In  June,  1863,  by  the  eifort  of  the  republican  delegate 
from  Nebraska,  he  was  removed,  on  the  ground  that  the 
year  before  he  had  run  as  a  democrat  for  Congress.  This 
removal  resulted  in  his  election  to  the  same  Congress  he 
had  been  beaten  for  in  Nebraska. 

The  38th  Avas  emphatically  the  "  War  Congress."  It 
was  in  the  early  days  of  the  session  that  Fernando  Wood, 
of  New  York,  the  acknowledged  leader  in  the  House  of 
the  anti-war  party,  made  his  great  speech,  in  which  he 
denounced  the  war  as  "a  hellish  crusade  of  blood  and  fam- 
ine." Mr.  Kinney  made  an  impromptu  reply  to  this 
speech,  which  was  extensively  published  at  the  time,  with 
flattering  comments.  The  following  resolution  introduced 
by  Mr.  Kinney  is  taken  from  the  "  Congressional  Daily 
Globe,"  of  jSIay  26,  1864,  which  is  given  here  to  show  his 
status  in  Congress  upon  the  greatest  question  that  has 
ever  agitated  the  country,  or  dominated  in  the  halls  of 
Congress : 

"  Resolved,  As  the  sense  of  this  House,  that  the  present 
crisis  in  the  history  of  this  causeless  and  unjustifiable 
rebellion  calls  loudly  upon  Congress  for  united  ])atriotic 
action.  That  while  our  gallant  and  self-sacrificing  sol- 
diers, with  a  courage  unexampled  either  in  ancient  or  mod- 
ern wars,  are  sustaining  the  honor  of  the  nation  in  the 
field,  they  are  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  the  country,  and 
the  hearty  support  of  Congress,  and  forgetting  for  the 
present  all  differences  on  old  party  issues,  it  is  the  duty  of 


19 

Congress  to  sustain  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  coun- 
try in  their  efifbrt  to  suppress  the  rebellion." 

This  resolution  was  adopted. 

At  the  close  of  the  38th  Congress,  Mr.  Kinney  returned 
to  his  home  in  Nebraska  City,  and  did  not  further  partici- 
pate in  public  aifairs  until  February,  1867,  when,  with 
five  other  gentlemen,  he  was  appointed  by  the  President 
on  a  special  Indian  commission  to  visit  the  Sioux  Indians, 
then  at  war,  and  particularly  to  make  full  inquiry  and 
report  concerning  the  "  Fort  Phil  Kearney  massacre." 
He  was  engaged  in  this  work  many  months.  At  Fort 
Laramie  the  commission  divided,  and  he  was  the  only  one 
who  visited  Fort  Phil  Kearney,  a  further  distance  of  two 
hundred  miles,  through  a  hostile  country,  but  was  favored 
with  a  military  escort.  The  report  which  he  made  as  to 
the  management  of  Indians  by  the  government  has  been 
largely  incorporated  into  our  present  system  for  the  civil- 
ization of  the  Indians  and  the  education  of  their  children. 

In  July,  through  the  influence  of  Nebraska's  able  Sen- 
ator, General  C.  H.  VanWyck,  Judge  Kinney  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Arthur  U.  S.  Indian  Agent  for  the 
Yankton  Sioux  Indians  in  Dakota,  a  place  of  great 
responsibility. 

As  Mr.  Kinney  was  a  democrat,  his  appointment  by  a 
republican  President  evoked  strong  opposition  from  the 
republican  delegation  in  Congress.  The  President  was 
appealed  to,  to  withdraw  the  nomination,  and  the  Senate  to 
withhold  the  confirmation,  on  the  ground,  only,  that  Mr. 
Kinney  was  a  leading  democrat,  and  the  position  was  due 
to  some  republican.  But  Senator  A'anWyck,  with  that 
courage  and  fidelity  which  have  distinguished  him  during 


20 

all  of  his  eventful  public  life,  insisted  upon  the  appoint- 
ment and  confirmation;  contending  that  qualification  and 
fitness  should  be  the  test  of  merit,  and  that  Mr.  Kinney 
possessed  these,  with  large  experience  among  the  Indians. 
President  Arthur,  in  the  face  of  the  opposition,  took  the 
same  view  of  the  matter  as  did  Senator  VanM^yck,  and 
twice  appointed  Mr.  Kinney  to  the  office,  and  his  appoint- 
ment was  confirmed  by  the  Senate. 

On  January  10,  1889,  after  his  term  of  office  had  ex- 
pired, at  his  own  request  he  was  relieved  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  successor. 

When  he  was  about  to  leave  the  Agency,  the  chiefs, 
head  men,  and  nearly  all  the  adult  male  Indians  of  the 
reservation,  assembled  at  the  Agency  to  bid  him  good- 
bye, and  in  their  speeches  referred  to  his  long  services  and 
the  good  he  had  done  them  by  settling  them  on  farms, 
providing  them  the  means  for  farming,  building  for  them 
houses,  etc.,  and  expressed  much  sorrow  because  he  could 
not  remain  witii  them  as  their  agent  and  father  as  long  as 
he  lived.  After  they  liad  thus  spoken,  all  shook  hands 
with  him. 

On  the  15th  day  of  January,  he  and  INIrs.  Kinney  re- 
turned to  Nebraska  City,  where,  at  the  home  of  their 
eldest  daughter,  Mrs.  Julian  Metcalf,  on  the  evening  of 
January  29th,  their  "golden  wedding"  was  becomingly 
observed  by  their  children  and  grandchildren,  none  but 
members  of  the  family  being  invited — an  agreeable  sur- 
prise planned  and  carried  out  by  Mrs.  Metcalf. 

Hannah  D.  Hall  was  born  in  Batavia,  N.  Y.,  on  the 
12th  day  of  November,  IHlfJ.  In  addition  to  the  educa- 
tion obtained  at  the  public  sciiools,  she  attended  the  Ladies' 


21 

Seminary  at  Bethany.  In  1838  she  came  to  Ohio,  where 
her  father,  Col.  Samuel  Hall,  was  then  living,  he  having 
removed  to  Knox  county  in  1836.  He  was  born  in  Wor- 
thington,  Mass.,  in  August,  1782;  was  an  officer  in  the 
war  of  1812,  and  bore  the  title  of  Colonel  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  September,  1850.  In 
1802  he  married  Hannah  Chapin,  daughter  of  Jonathan 
Chapin,  Esq.  She  was  born  near  Springfield,  Mass.,  in 
1784,  and  died  while  visiting  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Mary 
Jane  Burr,  in  Mt.  Vernon,  Ohio,  in  1858.  Mrs.  Hall  was 
a  woman  of  rare  intellect  and  extensive  reading,  with  a 
remarkable  memory,  and  at  will  could  call  up  dates  and 
events  in  history,  and  catalogue  the  reigning  kings  and 
queens  of  England,  the  time  and  reign  of  each,  with  an 
accuracy  which  was  wonderful.  Her  father  was  graduated 
at  Harvard,  and  a  distinguished  lawyer  in  his  day.  Sam- 
uel Hall  and  Hannah  Chapin  were  the  parents  of  five  sons 
and  three  daughters.  The  second  daughter,  Hannah  D. 
Hall,  tlirough  the  marriage  with  John  F.  Kinney,  is  the 
mother  of  two  daughters  and  five  sons.  The  eldest,  Julia 
Beatrice,  was  born  in  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio,  October  29, 
1839.  In  1856,  she  was  graduated  at  Miss  English's 
school  in  Georgetown,  D.  C,  and  by  reason  of  her  progress 
and  attainments,  was  chosen  to  prepare  and  deliver  the 
class  valedictory,  a  poem  which  was  published  in  the  Na- 
tional Intelligencer,  the  leading  paper  in  Washington,  with 
editorial  reference  to  its  merits  as  the  original  production 
of  a  young  lady  then  only  in  her  seventeenth  year.  She 
was  also  awarded  the  only  prize  medal  for  highest  attain- 
ments in  music.  In  the  spring  of  1857  the  family  removed 
from  Iowa  to  Nebraska  City.  That  year  a  town  site  was 
4 


22 

selected  ou  the  Blue  river,  in  Nebraska,  by  gentlemen  who 
were  passengers  on  the  same  boat  from  St.  Louis  u}).  The 
town,  without  a  house  then,  was  named  by  these  gentlemen 
"Beatrice,"  in  her  honor.  July  4,  LS57,  the  location  was 
ratified  by  the  members  of  the  company,  in  the  presence  of 
a  large  number  of  persons  who  had  gathered  from  Ne- 
braska City,  and  the  day  was  appropriately  observed  by 
the  erection  of  a  flag-staif  and  the  presentation  of  a  silk 
banner  by  the  ladies,  the  reading  of  an  original  poem  by 
Miss  Julia  Beatrice,  and  an  eloquent  response  by  Albert 
Pike,  Esq.,  a  young  lawyer,  now  prominent  at  the  St. 
Louis  bar.  Arrangements  were  also  made  to  commence 
building  and  start  the  town  by  providing  a  steam  saw-mill. 

Beatrice  is  now  the  third  city  of  the  state,  has  a  popula- 
tion of  15,000,  and  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  beauti- 
fully located  city  in  Nebraska. 

On  July  31,  1861,  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Julian 
Metcalf,  engaged  in  banking  in  Nebraska  City,  who  was 
born  in  Charlestown,  New  Hampshire,  December  29, 
1833.  His  father,  Horace  Metcalf,  was  born  May  10, 
1801,  and  died  November  19,  1879.  He  married  Chloe 
Cheney,  September  13,  1824,  who  was  born  August  30, 
1801,  and  died  November  19,  1874.  Horace  Metcalf  is 
mentioned  in  the  history  of  that  town  as  "a  successful 
farmer  and  financier,  a  man  of  intelligence  and  sound 
judgment,  and  long  prominent  in  his  portion  of  the  state, 
and  as  having  acquired  a  fortune."  His  brother,  Ralph 
Metcalf,  in  1855  was  elected  governor  of  the  state,  serving 
two  terms.  The  mother  of  Julian  Metcalf  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Col.  Wm.  Cheney,  of  Newport,  N.  H.,  who  was  an 
extensive  mill    owner  and   manufacturer,   and   for  many 


23 

years  a  representative  in  the  state  legislature,  and  died 
leaving  a  large  estate.  In  1824,  when  Gen,  Lafayette 
made  the  tour  of  New  England,  he  was  entertained  by 
Col.  Cheney  at  his  mansion, 

Julian  Metcalf  settled  in  Nebraska  City  in  1857,  and 
soon  engaged  in  banking.  In  1865  the  Otoe  County  Na- 
tional Bank  was  organized,  since  which  time  he  has  been 
cashier  and  manager.  There  ha%^e  been  born  to  him  and 
his  devoted,  Christian  wife,  two  daughters  and  one  son. 
Their  eldest,  Gertrude  Metcalf,  born  in  Nebraska  City, 
Neb.,  April  29,  1862;  Minnie  Metcalf,  at  the  same  place, 
May  17,  1864;  Horace  Metcalf,  same,  July  22,  1866. 

Gertrude  was  two  years  at  Wellesley  College,  near  Bos- 
ton, but  was  graduated  at  Hellmuth  College,  Ontario, 
Canada,  in  1880,  with  marked  distinction.  She  is  now 
vice  principal  of  "St.  Hilda's  Hall,"  near  Los  Angeles, 
California,  From  her  early  childhood  she  was  a  lover  of 
books,  and  a  close  student.  In  addition  to  her  scholarly 
attainments,  Gertrude  possesses  a  rare  charm  of  person 
and  manner. 

Minnie  Metcalf  has  the  gifts  of  genius,  draws  and  paints 
well,  is  a  natural  artist,  and  a  cultivated  reader.  She  was 
also  at  Helmuth  College,  and  has  had  liberal  opportunities 
to  improve  her  gifts. 

Horace,  the  only  son,  was  educated  at  Shattuck  school, 
Faribault,  Minn.,  is  a  young  man  of  sterling  character, 
has  just  passed  his  twenty-second  birthday,  is  book-keeper 
and  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Otoe  County  National 
Bank. 

Ellen  Hall  Kinney,  the  second  daughter,  was  born  in 
Mount  Vernon,  O.,  July  25,  1841.     When  thirteen  years 


24 

of  age  she  was  the  eldest  child  that  accompanied  her  pa- 
rents on  their  perilous  journey  across  the  plains.  On  their 
return,  in  1856,  she  was  placed  at  school  in  the  "Virginia 
Female  Institute,"  Staunton,  Va.,  a  seminary  of  high  rank, 
where  she  was  graduated  in  1858,  receiving  medals  for 
scholarship  and  drawing.  She  excelled  in  mathematics, 
and  always  preferred  study  to  the  gayetics  of  life.  October 
10,  1861,  she  was  married,  at  the  residence  of  her  father, 
in  Nebraska  City,  to  Jasper  A.  Ware,  proprietor  of 
"  Ware's  Bank."  He  was  born  in  Todd  county,  Ky., 
March  5,  1831.  His  father,  Edmund  AVare,  was  born  in 
Frankfort,  Ky.,  Oct.  19,  1797,  and  died  in  February, 
1 852.  He  settled  in  Todd  county  in  1826,  and  then  bought 
the  plantation  on  which  he  lived  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  Large  additions  in  land  and  improvements,  in  the 
meantime  had  been  made  by  him,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  the  owaier  of  a  large  estate. 

In  1823  he  was  married  to  Louisa  B.  Anderson,  who 
was  born  in  Louisa  county,  Va.,  Sept.  21,  1801,  and  died 
in  October,  1846. 

There  have  been  born  to  Jasper  A.  Ware  and  Ellen 
Hall  Kinney  three  daughters  and  one  son.  The  eldest, 
Florence,  was  born  in  Nebraska  City,  June  27,  1863, 
received  her  final  school  education  at  "Brownell  Hall," 
Omaha,  graduating  witli  the  highest  honors  in  the  class 
of  '82,  being  valedictorian,  and  receiving  the  scholarship 
medal.  She  is  loved  by  all  for  her  gentle  manners  and  sweet 
disposition.  June  25,  1884,  she  was  married,  at  "Wild- 
wood,"  the  residence  of  her  j)arcnts,  near  Nebraska  City, 
to  Richard  S.  Hall,  Esq.,  the  only  son  of  Augustus  Hall, 
deceased. 


25 

Od  May  4,  1888,  a  son  was  born  to  them,  Richard  Ware 
Hall,  who  occupies  the  place  of  honor,  by  being  the  only 
great-grandchild  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  F.  Kinney. 

Ellen  Ware,  the  second  daughter,  graduated  at  the  High 
School  in  Nebraska  City  in  1883,  is  an  earnest  student,  was 
principal  teacher  and  organist  in  the  government  boarding 
school  at  the  "  Yankton  Indian  Agency,"  Dak.,  for  more 
than  two  years,  nntil  she  resigned.  She  discharged  her 
duties  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  department,  winning 
the  love  of  the  children  and  the  highest  esteem  from  her 
co-teachers.  Lovable  in  her  ways,  energetic  in  all  she 
undertakes,  and  pleasing  in  her  manners.  She  is  now  prin- 
cipal of  Belmont  school,  Nebraska  City. 

Grace  AV'^are  was  educated  at  Schoenberger  Hall.  She 
early  evinced  a  talent  for  music,  was  persistent  in  her 
study  of  the  art,  received  instruction  from  her  aunt,  Mrs. 
Met  calf,  and  has  been  for  the  past  two  years  a  diligent 
pupil  of  the  accomplished  pianist.  Miss  Neally  Stevens. 
Her  great  natural  talent,  supplemented  by  hard  study, 
has  made  her  a  brilliant  player.  Dignified,  but  courteous, 
respectful  to  all,  but  familiar  with  none  outside  the  family 
circle,  she  closely  resembles  the  bride  of  fifty  years  ago, 
her  now  much  loved  "  Grandma." 

Norton  Ware,  a  dear  boy,  born  April  3,  1880,  at  Ne- 
braska Cily,  is  at  this  early  age  a  gentleman  in  his  man- 
ners, and  if  spared  to  take  his  place  in  the  active  scenes  of 
life,  will  undoubtedly  make  his  mark  in  the  world,  for  ho 
has  that  will-power  which  is  so  necessary  to  success. 

Daughters  and  son  give  ample  proof  of  the  careful, 
affectionate  training  of  a  refined  Christian  home. 

In  addition  to  the  two  daughters,  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Kinney 


56 

have  had  five  sous  born.  Samuel  Hall  Kinney,  the  eld- 
est, was  born  in  Mount  Vernon,  O.,  Dec.  29,  1843.  lie 
early  developed  a  tendency  for  study,  and  a  talent  for 
mathematics.  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  in  1860,  he  was 
appointed  Cadet  to  the  U.  S.  ^Military  Academy.  In  1864 
he  was  graduated  in  the  Artillery  Corps,  and  was  at  once 
assigned  to  duty  in  front  of  Richmond.  He  was  engaged 
in  battle  about  the  time  of  the  evacuation  and  surrender. 
For  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in  this  fight  he  was 
promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy,  and  breveted  Captain.  He 
was  afterwards  stationed  on  the  Pacific  coast,  then  sent 
with  his  company  to  Alaska,  where,  in  1868,  Dec.  2d,  in 
the  twenty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  he  died.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  he  was  brevet  Major  in  the  First  Artillery,  U.  S. 
A.  His  remains  were  removed  to  Wyuka  cemetery, 
Nebraska  City,  Neb. 

John  Fitch  Kinney,  Jr.,  was  born  in  West  Point,  Lee 
county,  Iowa,  March  28,  1846,  where  he  received  his  first 
lessons  in  English  education,  at  the  select  school  taught  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roots ;  was  sent  to  Georgetown,  D.  C,  and 
Edge  Hill,  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  when  home  in  Nebraska, 
then  sixteen  years  of  age,  entered  as  a  private  soldier  in  the 
Nebraska  2d,  and  was  engaged  M-ith  the  regiment  under 
Gen.  Alfred  Sully  in  subduing  and  capturing  hostile  In- 
dians in  Dakota  and  Minnesota,  the  occasion  being  a  war 
inaugurated  by  the  Santee  Sioux  in  1862,  when  they  com- 
mitted what  is  known  as  the  "Minnesota  Massacre." 
After  his  term  of  service  expired,  he  returned  home,  again 
attended  school,  then  became  book-keeper  in  a  baidt.  In 
Nebraska  City,  on  the  first  day  of  September,  1868,  was 
married  to  Miss  Hattie  Sabin,  who  was   born  in   Ovid, 


27 

Seneca  county,  N.  Y.,  in  April,  1846.  In  1878  they  took 
charge  of  St.  John's  Episcopal  Mission  Indian  boarding 
school,  located  near  Ft.  Bennett,  Dakota,  where  they  have 
since  remained.  Under  their  management  the  school  has 
been  a  great  success,  and  is  now  acknowledged  to  be  at  the 
head  of  all  Indian  mission  schools. 

Brockway  Kinney  was  born  in  West  Point,  Iowa,  Nov. 
15,  1849.  His  education  was  obtained  at  Georgetown,  D. 
C,  Edge  Hill,  N.  J.,  and  Kenyon  College.  He  studied 
law  in  his  father's  office,  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1872, 
was  elected  Police  Judge  in  Nebraska  City,  and  Nov.  29, 
1876,  married,  in  St,  Louis,  Miss  Abby  Curtis,  daughter 
of  Mr.  Mark  Curtis,  now  deceased,  then  extensively  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  stoves  and  hollow  ware. 
Four  children  have  been  born  to  them,  two  now  living,  a 
son  and  daughter.  The  eldest  child,  Julia,  lived  until  she 
was  seven  years  old,  but  being  too  tender  and  lovable  for 
earth,  was  then  borne  away  on  "angels'  wings,"  for  of 
such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

In  the  absence  of  the  mother,  her  remains  were  tenderly 
laid  away  by  the  heart-broken  father  in  Bellefontaine  Cem- 
etery. Each  Sunday  since,  as  this  in  her  life-time  was 
"papa's  day,"  he  has  visited  the  sacred  spot  where  his 
darling  lies,  strewing  sweet  flowers,  which  she  so  dearly 
loved. 

His  struggle  at  the  bar  in  St.  Louis,  as  against  old  and 
well-established  lawyers,  was  attended  with  many  discour- 
agements and  sore  trials,  but  his  application,  courage,  and 
perseverance,  after  ten  years'  practice,  placed  him  in  a  posi- 
tion to  the  court  and  bar  as  an  acknowledged  factor  in  a 
profession  in  which  success  is  only  attainable  by  well- 
deserved  merit. 


28 

Steptoe  Kinney  was  born  at  AVood  River,  in  Nebraska, 
June  24,  1854,  while  his  parents  were  en  route  to  Utali. 
His  birthplace  was  in  tlie  tent  of  Dr.  Clark,  who  had  es- 
tablished a  hospital  to  relieve  the  sick  and  especially  those 
who  were  wounded  by  tlie  Indians  while  crossing  the 
plains.  This  tent  was  reached  at  night,  and  tlie  next 
morning  the  child  was  born.  Two  desperate  outlaws  had 
opened  a  whisky  shop  close  by  the  Doctor's  quarters. 
These  men  and  the  Doctor  were  the  only  persons  there. 
Two  men,  an  ambulance,  a  wagon,  and  four  horses  Judge 
Kinney  had  retained,  and  sent  his  train  forward.  They 
were  camped  some  twenty  miles  in  advance.  When  tiic 
child  was  only  one  day  old,  and  while  the  father  was  in 
the  tent  with  the  sick  and  suffering  mother,  the  two  des- 
peradoes hitched  a  pair  of  horses  to  the  baggage  wagon, 
were  seated,  and  in  the  act  of  driving  away,  when  they 
were  discovered  by  Mr.  Kinney.  When  ordered  to  drop 
the  lines  and  get  out,  he  was  answered  l)y  oaths  and  a  flat 
refusal.  A  drawn  pistol  ready  for  action,  with  the  assiu*- 
ance  that  it  would  be  discharged  unless  the  demand  was 
obeyed,  had  the  desired  effect,  and  they  left  the  wagon 
threatening  certain  death.  Not  thinking  it  prudent  to 
remain  there  longer,  the  mother  and  child  were  at  once 
placed  in  the  ambulance,  and  a  rapid  drive  was  made  to 
the  camp.  The  next  day  (iencral  I^anders  was  met,  re- 
turning to  the  states;  the  chihl  then  being  two  days  old, 
he  christened  it  "Bill  Nebraska,"  in  honor  of  the  pas- 
sage a  few  days  before  of  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  bill 
organizing  those  territories.  Jn  a  letter  })ublished  by 
him,  in  the  account  given  of  this  meeting,  he  stated  that 
when  he  met  the  party  in  camp,  the  mother  and  "Bill 


29 

Nebraska"  were  feasting  on  buifalo  meat,  and  both  were 
doing  well. 

At  his  baptismal  christening,  the  soubriquet  given  by 
General  Landers  was  dropped,  and  the  child  was  named 
Steptoe,  after  a  very  dear  friend,  Col.  Edward  Steptoe,  of 
the  U.  S.  Army.  He  was  educated  at  Edge  Hill,  Prince- 
ton, N.  J.,  Talbot  Hall,  and  at  the  Nebraska  College; 
read  law  with  his  father,  was  admitted  to  practice,  went  to 
California  in  February,  187G.  When  in  Santa  Clara,  the 
last  of  May  of  that  year,  he  was  married  to  ]\Iiss  Mary 
Luis  Josephine  Argiielio,  second  daughter  of  Don  Luis 
Antonio  Argiielio,  she  then  being  in  her  eighteenth  year. 
Her  grandfatiier  and  great-grandfather  were  at  the  head, 
respectively,  of  the  government  of  the  Province  of  Cali- 
fornia before  the  United  States  acquired  the  country  by 
the  Treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo  in  1847.  Argiielio  is 
an  old  Spanish  family  of  Castilian  blood,  and  trace  their 
ancestry  to  some  of  the  most  notable  families  of  Spain.  A 
poem  by  Bret  Harte  recites  in  graphic  measure  the  tragic 
story  of  the  death  of  a  Russian  officer  who  had  been  de- 
puted by  his  government  to  visit  Governor  Argiielio,  and 
while  visiting  the  family  fell  in  love  with  the  daughter. 
They  became  engaged,  and  the  officer  returned  to  his 
country.  When  he  again  visited  California  to  claim  his 
bride,  in  passing  over  a  precipitous  mountain,  his  horse 
stumbled  and  fell,  and  the  gallant  young  officer  Avas 
thrown,  and  his  body  found  hundreds  of  feet  below,  hav- 
ino-  been  killed  in  his  descent  among;  the  rocks.  The 
bride  elect  immured  herself  in  a  convent,  where  she  ended 
her  days  without  any  intercourse  with  the  outside  world. 

In  the  early  iiistory  of  California  the  Argiielio  family 


30 

held  a  prominent  place,  and  as  grantees  of  the  Spanish 
and  INIexiean  oovornments,  wore  tlic  rccij^ients  of  extensive 
grants. 

The  marriage  of  Steptoe  Kinney,  the  child  of  the  plains, 
was  like  that  of  his  father's,  after  only  a  short  acquaint- 
ance. The  attractions  of  the  captivating  and  handsome 
senorita  were  too  strong  to  admit  of  delay,  lie  has  always 
been  a  constant  reader  of  hooks,  is  a  ready  debater,  a  fluent 
and  easy  writer,  has  a  natural  inclination  for  the  law,  pos- 
sesses a  generous  nature,  has  the  faculty  of  making  friends, 
is  very  popular  among  his  ac(}uaintances,  and  with  appli- 
cation will  win  distinction  in  his  profession. 

On  May  19, 1877,  in  Santa  Clara,  a  daughter  was  born 
— named  after  her  mother,  Mary  Josephine.  Mamie  is  a 
child  of  great  promise,  loved  by  all,  a  leader  among  her 
seniors,  bright  and  energetic,  with  an  aptitude  for  books 
and  study — and  in  her  recitations  at  school  and  at  read- 
ings displays  a  rare  natural  talent  which  gives  promise  of 
distinction  if  it  is  fully  developed  by  culture. 

One  more  son  born  to  Judge  Kinney  remains  to  be 
mentioned.  Renfrew,  the  youngest,  born  in  Nebraska 
City,  September  23,  1860,  died  March  15,  1863,  the 
darling  of  the  family  w'hile  he  liv'ed. 

The  dark  shadow  which  overspread  the  home  circle  by 
the  death  of  two  sons,  still  follows  closely  through  all 
these  years  the  retreating  footsteps  of  the  parents,  and  it 
will  only  be  lost  in  the  Divine  light  of  a  reunion. 

Surviving  children  and  dearest  grandchildren  impart  u 
charm  to  declining  years,  and  add  a  fascination  to  life. 
Their  golden  wedding  anniversary,  in  the  lovely  presence 
of  their  children,  marks  an  exceptional  epoch  on  the  dial 


31 

of  tinie.  It  will  pass  into  history,  and  remote  descend- 
ants in  their  social  family  gatherings  will  refer  to  it  as  a 
remarkable  instance  of  Divine  mercy.  Few  who  l^egin 
life  together  reach  this  climax  of  married  bliss.  Xone 
whose  lives  are  more  harmonionsly  blended  with  the  lives 
of  their  children  than  those  whose  golden  anniversary  was 
so  beautifully  celebrated  on  the  evening  of  January  29, 
1889. 

Fifty  years  had  come  and  gone  since  they  stood  at  the 
Altar.  The  then  shadowy  future  with  all  of  its  dreamy 
uncertainties,  in  these  years  has  been  crystallized  into  stern 
realities. 

Then,  the  future  was  a  sealed  book — now,  it  is  an  open 
volume.  Every  page  has  intensified  love,  and  by  the  joy 
and  sorrow  it  has  revealed,  has  sanctified  their  married 
life.  Then,  the  formal  wishes  of  friends  for  the  future — 
now,  the  warm  congratulations  of  sons  and  daughters  and 
their  children,  for  their  safe  arrival  at  the  golden  altar. 

The  trials  and  sufferings  mutually  borne  through  the 
long  journey  were  all  forgotten.  There  was  no  room  for 
disappointed  hopes  or  unsatisfied  ambition.  Honors  and 
riches  seemed  less  than  dross.  Filial  love  and  tender 
homage  dominated  the  hearts  of  all,  and  in  the  midst  of 
a  profusion  of  fragrant  flowers,  the  grandparents  were 
crowned  with  honor  and  haj)piness  by  the  earnest  congrat- 
ulations of  tlieir  devoted  chikh'en. 


32 

The  following  letter  written  to  an  absent  member  of 
the  family,  describing  the  evening's  entertainment  and 
reunion,  we  are  kindly  permitted  to  publish : 

Nebraska  City,  Jan.  30,  1889. 

Dear  G. — We  regretted  your  absence  greatly  from  our 
festivities  last  evening,  and  knowing  you  too  regretted  it, 
I  feel  the  only  compensation  we  can  make  is  to  give  you 
the  particulars  of  the  "Golden  Wedding."  By  so  doing, 
you  may  have  some  faint  idea  of  the  delightful  event, 
which  is  long  to  be  remembered  by  those  who  were  so  for- 
tunate as  to  participate  in  it. 

Our  hostess  had  planned  a  surprise  for  her  parents, 
having  received  many  gifts  and  letters  of  congratulation, 
written  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  coasts.  These  she 
kept  a  mystery,  not  to  be  revealed  until  the  memorable 
evening. 

"Blessed  is  the  bride  that  the  sun  shines  on,"  is  the  old 
saying,  and  on  the  twenty-ninth  the  sun  shone  gloriously. 
"  Just  such  a  day  had  we  fifty  years  ago,"  Grandma  said, 
with  great  satisfaction.  The  night,  too,  was  mild  and 
balmy  as  spring-tide.  The  guests  arriving  in  the  early 
evening  found  the  house  bright  with  lights  and  flowers, 
and  when  the  dear  bride  and  groom  entered,  aim  in  arm, 
their  heads  white  with  the  gentle  frosts  of  time,  their  faces 
fresh  with  the  youth  of  love  and  tenderness,  and  stood  re- 
ceiving the  congratulations  of  their  children  and  children's 
children,  how  proud  we  were !  and  how  our  hearts  blessed 
them  in  their  sweet  fulfillment  of  all  life's  sacred  duties. 

After  congratulations,  Uncle  Brock  stepped  forward 
and  presented  the  bride  with  an  exquisite  bourpiet  of  half 


33 

open  rosebuds,  saying  there  was  nothing  so  emblematic  of 
the  purity  and  fragrance  of  her  devoted  life  as  the  sweet- 
ness of  flowers;  his  voice  faltered  as  the  dear  hands  trem- 
blingly received  them,  while  love  beamed  from  the  dim, 
sweet  eyes.  Not  one  of  us  but  held  his  breath  and  felt  a 
quickening  of  the  heart  beats.  Fortunately,  to  the  relief 
of  all,  supper  was  announced,  and  we  laughingly  followed 
the  bride  and  groom  to  the  dining-room. 

We  reverently  stood  around  the  table,  beau.ti fully  deco- 
rated with  flowers  and  ferns,  while  in  a  voice  full  of 
emotion  and  gratitude,  dear  Grandfather  returned  thanks 
for  the  blessings  of  the  past  and  of  the  present. 

The  supper  was  all  a  wedding  supper  should  be;  the 
souvenirs  lovely  and  artistic,  made  and  designed  by  Grace. 
White  and  gold,  with  the  years  1839  and  1889  painted 
with  date  and  monogram.  After  these  were  admired  and 
appropriated,  we  "fell  to"  in  earnest  over  the  bountiful 
repast ;  the  bride  of  half  a  century  cutting  the  bride's 
cake  amid  cheers  and  laughter. 

How  many  reminiscences  were  recalled !  How  many 
anecdotes  told!  How  much  mirth  and  fun  sparkled 
around  the  festal  board  !  As  the  table  was  cleared  for  the 
last  course,  the  uninitiated  were  surprised  by  the  delivery 
of  the  evening  mail,  and  a  great  pile  of  letters  and  pack- 
ages was  deposited  by  Grandfather's  plate.  To  see  the 
look  of  sur])rise  on  tlie  two  dear  faces  at  such  a  collection, 
and  their  utter  lack  of  suspicion  but  that  they  all  came  in 
that  evening's  post,  will  be  one  of  the  sweetest  remem- 
brances of  the  hour. 

Our  host  had  supplied  the  table  with  most  delicious, 
mellow  currant  wine,  made  by  his  mother  thirty -six  years 


34 

before,  and  in  this  we  toasted  each  writer  and  donor  as 
letters  and  gifts  were  ojjened.  Then  to  sec  Grandma  as 
slie  looked  at  tlie  lovely  presents,  so  unexpected,  and  from 
friends  so  far  away,  was  a  picture  of  itself!  How  royally 
all  were  toasted  I  How  cheered  were  the  absent !  Plow 
happy  and  united  were  those  present!  Surely  such  family 
reunions  are  foretastes  of  the  blessed  reunions  to  come !  I 
looked  around  at  the  faces,  from  those  of  three-score  years 
and  ten  to  those  in  full  maturity ;  from  those  in  their 
youth  to  the  dear  ones  in  their  childhood  ;  and  saw  the 
winter  and  autumn,  the  summer  and  spring  of  life  all 
blended  in  one  happy  circle.  As  the  last  letter  and  poem 
were  read,  the  groom  arose  (dear  Grandpa,  you  know), 
and  presented  to  the  bride  a  l)eautil"ul  wedding  ring.  I 
wish  I  could  remember  word  for  word  what  he  said,  it 
was  so  tender  and  true,  but  as  I  cannot,  will  not  give  you 
a  garbled  version  of  my  own.  Only,  dear  G.,  if  /ever 
iind  any  one  who  can  say  sucli  sweet  things,  with  Grand- 
father's grace  and  dignity,  as  he  placed  the  ring  on  Grand- 
ma's finger,  remembering  their  fifty  years  of  love  and  toil, 
of  cloud  and  sunshine — why  I  for  one  yield  myself  to 
iiim  as  my  liege  lord,  worthy  of  hand  and  heart.  But 
alas!  G.,  the  youth  of  our  day  are  not  like  the  courtly 
old  school,  and  I  see  but  little  hope  for  us  or  them.  This 
digression  is  unpardonable,  so  I  take  u])  my  thread  again. 
After  this  we  returned  to  the  parlor,  where  the  gifts  were 
admired,  and  mirth  and  music  were  in  order,  all  joining 
in  the  dear,  old  song,  "Jlome,  Sweet  Home."  Tlion  an 
old-fashioned  (luadrille  was  formed,  ti»e  bride  and  groom 
leading  olf.  1  wish  you  could  have  seen  us,  young  and 
old,    thread    the   "mazy    dance."      With    what    dignity 


35 

Grandma  and  Grandpa  moved,  stately  and  quiet  as  the 
courtly  minuet,  and  with  what  audacity  Horace,  who  was 
caller,  shouted,  "Everybody  kiss  his  partner!"  "It  was 
not  so  done  in  my  day,"  Grandma  said,  as  she  submitted 
to  be  heartily  kissed  by  one  and  all,  for  they  seemed  to 
claim  her  as  partner  alone.  Then  ices  were  served,  and 
social  talk  was  busy  until  the  unnaturally  bright  eyes  of 
the  children's  children  reminded  the  older  ones  that  mid- 
night was  striking,  and  that  the  hour  for  good-nights  and 
good-byes  had  come  only  too  soon.  With  many  a  tender 
word  and  prayerful  wish,  with  blessings  and  benedictions, 
we  all  sang  the  grand  old  Doxology — 

"  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow, 
Praise  Him,  all  creatures  here  below; 
Praise  Him  above,  ye  heavenly  host, 
Praise  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost." 

and  separated  for  the  night.  But  long  after  all  was  quiet 
my  thoughts  were  full  of  the  far-reaching  past,  which  to 
me  seemed  so  misty  and  dim,  and  of  the  dear  ones  who, 
amid  the  love  and  reverence  of  their  children,  had  now 
passed  their  "Golden  Anniversary." 

I  wish  I  could  give  you  the  toasts,  some  never  to 
be  forgotten,  the  menu,  and  a  full  description  of  all  the 
beautiful  gifts,  but  space  forbids.  Only  one  gift  I  must 
mention,  which  was  a  great  box  of  California  flowers,  from 
Cousin  Thco's  beautiful  garden.  There  were  layers  of 
callas  and  carnations,  stocks  of  every  hue,  cyclamens  and 
ferns,  and  last,  but  best  of  all,  roses  and  biids,  such  as  can 
only  be  found  in  the  "  land  of  sunshine."  They  were  as  fresh 
as  though  just  gathered,  and  filled  the  house  with  their  fra- 
grance.    Enough !  If  I  continue  I  shall  never  stop,  so  I 


36 

close  with  tlic  wisli  that  you  and  I  may  live  to  celebrate 
our  "Golden  Wedding,"  but  alas!   the  promise  is  poor, 
for  there  is  no  prospect  of  a  first  that  I  can  see. 
Your  devoted  but  hopeful  cousin, 

B. 


37 


K5 


BongFakrlaloF^  ;^0tt^F, 


St.  John's  Wm.  Welsh  Memorial  Mission  School, 
Fort  Bennett,  Dak.,  Januaiy  20,  1 889. 

My  Dear  Father  and  Mother — Hattie  and  I  send 
you  a  trifle  to  commemorate  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  your 
marriage. 

In  the  ups  and  downs  of  life  it  is  a  rare  blessing,  vouch- 
safed to  few  children  to  rejoice  over.  We  are  thankful 
that  a  kind  Providence  has  so  ordained  it. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  we  will  be  with  you  in  spirit,  and 
our  prayers  will  be  for  your  continued  prosperity  and 
happiness. 

Your  loving  children, 

Fitch  and  Hattie. 

To  Hon.  J.  F.  Kinney,  Nebraska  City,  Neb. 
6 

28105:L 


38 

San  Jose,  California,  Jan.  24,  1889. 

Dear  Father — Yours  of  22d  inst.,  from  Nebraska 
City,  received  to-day,  aud  was  glad  to  hear  of  your  safe 
arrival  there  and  fortunate  release  from  the  Agency.  After 
four  years  and  a  half  sojourn  on  an  Indian  reservation, 
civilization  must  seem  most  welcome  again.  ]  have  no 
douht  that  the  Golden  Anniversary  will  be  most  appro- 
priately and  fittingly  celebrated,  knowing  that  Julia  is  the 
master  (or  mistress)  of  ceremony.  How  else  could  it  be 
other  than  successful  ? 

The  children  have  sent  congratulatory  letters,  under  great 
excitement,  but  every  time  I  attempted  anything  of  the 
kind  my  poor  pen  failed  to  do  justice  to  the  subject,  and  I 
finally  gave  up  in  despair. 

Among  so  many  expressions  from  dear  ones  you  will  not 
miss  my  feeble  voice. 

We  are  looking  forward  with  much  pleasure  to  your  and 
mother's  visit.  We  call  it  the  bridal  tour,  and  will  wel- 
come the  bride  and  groom  with  joy  and  acclamation. 

With  much  love  and  wishes  for  many  more  years  of 

marital  felicity, 

Yours  as  ever, 

Steptoe  Kinney. 


Santa  Clara,  Cal.,  Jan.  24,  1889. 

Dearest  Father  and  Mother  Kinney — Accept 
from  your  youngest  daughter  the  heartiest  congratulations 
upon  the  occurrence  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  your 
weddcKl  life.  Although  many  handsome  and  eloquent 
tributes  from  States  and  Territories  are  pouring  in  upon 


39 

you,  let  this  letter  be  not  the  less  accepted.  Yes,  dear 
Father  and  Mother  Kinney,  I  also  thank  you  on  this 
occasion  for  your  kindness  shown  me  while  at  your  home. 
I  do  also  ask  that  my  little  faults  of  the  past  be  forgiven 
and  forgotten. 

Wishing  you  much  happiness  on  this  great  event,  and 
hoping  to  welcome  you  soon  in  California, 

I  am,  as  ever,  your  true  and  affectionate  daughter, 

Josephine  Arguello  Kinney. 


TO    FATHER    AND    MOTHER. 

Fifty  years  of  light  and  shade, 

Fifty  years  of  joy  and  care, 
Fifty  years  most  happy  made 

By  the  crown  of  love  you  wear. 

Golden  is  the  light,  I  ween — 

Golden  are  the  joys  as  well; 
Of  the  shade  and  care,  no  dream 

Mars  to-night  Love's  golden  spell. 

J.   B.   M. 


Los  Angei.es,  Cal.,  Jan.  22,  1889. 

My  Dear  Grandparents — I  cannot  tell  you  what 
great  pleasure  it  gives  me  to  be  able  to  congratulate  you 
on  this  rare  and  happy  occasion. 

The  privilege  of  claiming  a  share  in  the  affections  of 
two  who  have  proved  not  only  a  great  happiness  in  my 
own  life,  but  an  honor  and  source  of  pride  to  the  commu- 
nity at  large,  is,  and  will  always  be,  esteemed  by  me  one 
of  my  choicest  blessings. 


40 

With  the  hope  that  the  future  still  holds  many  happy 
years  in  store  for  you,  I  am 

Your  very  affectionate  granddaughter, 

Gertrude  Metcalp. 
P.  S. — Please  accept  the  enclosed  gift,  with  dearest  love. 

G. 


2416  Farnam  St.,  Omaha,  Nek., 

Jan.  29,  1880. 
My  Dear  Grandparents — I  regret  so  much  that  we 
cannot   be  with   you    on    your   approaching  anniversary, 
owing  to  Richard's  unavoidable  absence. 

Please  accept  with  this  little  gift  our  best  wishes  and 
congratulations  for  the  occasion,  in  which  your  great- 
grandchild most  heartily  joins. 

Affectionately, 

Florence  Ware  Hall. 


Pottstown,  Pa.,  Jan.  26,  1889. 

My  Dear  Grandma  and  Grandpa — Ah,  let's  see! 
Fifty  years  ago  dear  Grandma  was  a  bride,  and  you, 
Grandpa,  Avere  the  groom  !  I  cannot  remember  quite  that 
far  back,  but  I  can  shut  my  eyes  and  picture  it  all. 

Grandma,  fair,  stately,  and  tall,  radiant  in  her  wedding 
gown.  How  young  and  blooming  she  was !  and  you, 
Grand2)a,  how  proud  of  her  you  were,  and  what  an  ener- 
getic, handsome,  and  royal  young  man  you  must  have 
been!  Oh,  I  am  glad  J  was  not  at  ih<ii  wedding.  How 
horribly  jealous  of  Grandma   1   would  have  been,  and 


41 

Horace  would  like  to  have  stood  in  yonr  place  at  the  altar 
beside  that  beautiful  young  girl  whom  to-day  ten  of  us 
call  ''Grandma."  So  you  see  everything  is  for  the  best. 
Grandpa,  dear,  your  hair  at  that  time  wasn't  so  gray,  and 
your  form  wasn't  so  plump.  You  did  not  wear  spectacles, 
nor  did  you  carry  a  cane.  Your  and  Grandma's  hearts 
seem  to  have  stood  quite  still,  while  your  bodies  were 
growing  old  gracefully.  Fifty  years  ago  you  wrote  poems 
in  praise  of  Grandma's  beauty  and  charms.  All  lovers 
write  such  things,  although  they  are  often  merely  pretty 
words.  Fifty  years  of  time  have  only  ripened  Grandma's 
loveliness,  Avhile  your  sonnets  have  been  proven  true  by 
fifty  years  of  faithful  love.  Your  Golden  Wedding! 
And  from  the  sunny  Pacific  to  the  misty  Atlantic  comes 
the  greeting,  ''May  joy  and  happiness  be  yours." 

As  I  think  of  you  both  now,  with  your  children's 
children  about  you,  and  see  the  bright  faces  of  Horace  and 
Gertrude,  ]\Iamma  and  Papa,  uncles,  aunts,  cousins,  and 
that  dear  baby  Richard,  of  the  fourth  generation,  all  wish- 
ing you  good  cheer  on  your  Golden  Wedding  day,  I  am 
very  glad  that  fifty  years  ago  dear  Grandma  said  she  would 
marry  you. 

I  wanted  to  write  you  a  poem,  but  "Pegasus"  is  a 
spirited  horse.  Grandpa  dear,  and  lie  hates  side-saddles,  I 
know. 

God  bless  and  keep  yuu  both,  is  the  golden  wish 
Of  your  loving  granddaughter, 

Minj^ie  Metcalf. 


42 

Santa  Clara,  Cal.,  Jan.  24,  1889. 

Dear  Grandpa  and  Grandma — 1  do  think.  Grand- 
ma, this  is  a  great  day  for  you,  more  so  because  it  was  a 
surprise!  How  nice  it  woidd  liave  been  to  have  all  your 
children  together,  especially  your  grandchildren,  but  I  am 
to  be  counted." as  your  little  daughter,  because  I  am  under 
many  obligations  to  you,  sweet  Grandma,  as  you  and 
Grandpa  really  raised  me  from  an  infant  until  I  was  quite 
a  big  girl.  Nonv,  dear  Grandpa  and  Grandma,  please  ac- 
cept my  congratulations  on  this  happy  day  of  fifty  years 
married.  I  hope  the  Lord  will  spare  you  many  more 
anniversaries,  and  that  He  will  also  provide  and  protect 
you  both,  is  the  prayer  of 

Your  little  granddaughter. 

Age  eleven.  Mamie  Kinney. 


Santa  Clara,  Cal.,  Jan.  24,  1880. 
Hon.  J.  F.  Kinney  and  ir//e,  Nebraska  Citij : 

Dearest  Grandpa  and  Grandma — As  the  last  beams 
of  1888  have  been  borne  into  eternity,  and  the  New  Year 
has  brought  with  it  this  great  and  memorable  day,  I 
hasten,  dearest  Grandpa  and  Grandma,  to  congratulate 
you  on  this  the  happiest  of  your  days — the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  your  wedding.  Though  our  congratulations 
must  find  their  way  for  thousands  of  miles,  1  feel  assured 
that  they  will  reach  their  destination  and  will  be  fully 
appreciated.  True,  dear  Grandma,  we  have  never  looked 
upon  your  kind  face,  nor  have  we  ever  listened  to  the 
gentle  accents  of  your  voice,  but  the  loving  hearts  of  those 


43 

who  know  and  love  you  well,  have  opened  to  us  the  noble 
and  generous  sentiments  of  their  loved  inoth.er  and  father, 
so  that  we  feel  very  well  acquainted  with  you,  despite  the 
great  distance  between  us.  Therefore  your  granddaughter 
Louise  would  niina;le  her  voice  in  the  earnest  congratula- 
tions  for  your  fiftieth  anniversary,  with  those  who  are  so 
favored  with  your  dear  presence.  May  the  Eternal  One 
bless  you  on  this  happy  day,  with  an  especial  benediction 
upon  your  worthy  deeds,  and  when  this  life  is  ended  may 
He  with  open  arms  receive  your  precious  souls,  is  our 
prayer.  Again  congratulating  you  on  this  most  happy 
day,  I  subscribe  myself, 

Your  loving  adopted  granddaughter, 

Louise  Arguello. 


Santa  Clara,  Cal.,  Jan.  24,  1889. 

Hon.  J.  F.  Kinney  and  Wife,  Nehrafihu  ('Hi/,  Xeb.: 

My  Dearest  Grandpa  and  Grandma — It  is  with  a 
heart  full  of  joy  that  I  come  to  offer  you  my  best  wishes 
and  congratulations  on  this  happy  day.  We  all  wish  Ave 
could  be  there  with  you  to  eujoy  the  reunion.  I  hope 
you  may  live  to  see  many  more  anniversaries  among  all 
your  children  and  grandchildren.  jNfay  our  dear  Lord 
grant  you  both  a  long  and  happy  life!  I  feel  quite  hon- 
ored to  write  you  this  English  letter,  although  it  would 
be  much  easier  to  send  my  good  wishes  to  you  in  S})anish. 
We  wished  to  send  you  some  presents,  but  brother  Steptoe 
advised  us  to  keep  them  here  until  you  arrive  in  Califor- 
nia.    We  are  so  anxious  to  see  you  both,  especially  you. 


44 

dear  Graiulina,  wliom  we  never  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing. 
Hoping  your  lives  may  he  sj)ai'ed  to  your  children  for 
many  more  years  to  come. 

I  an]  your  adopted  granddaughter, 

Ignacia  Akguei.i.o. 


Santa  Clara,  Cal.,  Jan.  24,  1889. 

Dear  Grandma  and  Grandpa — This  great  day  has 

arrived,  and  I  come  with  ray  little  heart  full  of  love  and 

gratitude  to  give  you  my  heartiest  congratulations  on  this 

great  event.     Now,  dear  Grandpa  and  Grandma,  I  being 

the  youngest  in  Mamma's  family,  my  letter  must  be  the 

shortest.     Hoping  to  see  you  soon  in  California,  I  must 

finish  with — 

This  joyful  anniversary, 

May  you  see, 
And  many  sweet  returns 

Be  stored  to  thee. 

From  your  adopted  granddaughter. 
Age  ten.  Marcjarita  Arguello. 


Santa  Clara,  Enero  22,  1889. 

QuERiDOS  Amigos — Comc  ya  se  acerca  un  dia  tan 
grande  y  de  tantos  reeuerdos  para  ustcdcs,  no  podemos 
menos  que  congratularlos  y  esparamos  que  Dios  los  guarde 
en  buena  salud  y  felicidad,  y  que  vivan  ha  celebrar  otro 
aniversaria  todabia.  Mucho  gusto  tendriamos  si  pudier- 
amos  nosotros  ser  contados  en  el  numero  de  los  (jue  par- 
ticiparan  de  la  dicha  de  acompanarlos  ese  dia  feliz.  Pero 
desde  a  qui  haremos  munchos  recuerdos  en  eompania  de 


45 

vuestro  buen  liijo  y  su  familia.  Espero  que  si  algun  dia 
vienen  a  California  tendrctuos  el  gran  placer  de  juntarnos 
y  pasar  unos  ratos  felizes.  Conclugo  con  salu  darlos  a 
todos  en  general  y  reciban  espreciones  de  mi  familia  y  sus 
nictos. 

Sen  mas  somos  sus  servidores. 

Mr.  and  Mes.  L.  Arguello. 


Kexosha,  Wis.,  Jan.  25,  1889. 

My  Dear  Brother  and  Sister — Permit  me  to  con- 
gratulate you  on  this  golden  anniversary.  It  must  be  a 
great  source  of  satisfaction  to  you  in  looking  back  upon  a 
well  spent  life,  and  forward  with  bright  anticipations  for 
the  future,  to  feel  that  life  has  well  been  worth  the  living. 

May  you  yet  see  many  happy  days,  and  as  you  near  the 
river,  which  we  all  have  to  cross,  may  your  path  grow 
brighter  and  brighter  even  to  the  perfect  day,  is  the  ear- 
nest wish  of 

Your  elder  brother, 

Elisha  M.  Kinney. 
P.  S.— Kindest  regards  from  all  to  all.     E.  M.  K. 
To  Judge  J.  F.  Kinney  and  Wife. 


Wateeville,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  24,  1889. 

My  Dearest  Brother — I  cannot  express  to  you  the 
many  memories  that  fill  my  heart  as  I  recall  the  past,  and 
remember  that  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  your  wedded  life 
will  soon  be  here.     Fifty  years  married  !     How  long  our 


46 

Heavenly  Father,  tlirout^li  His  great  mercy,  has  spared 
your  lives  to  one  another.  AVith  thankful  hearts  we  are 
oifering  our  fervent  devotion  that  you  have  not  only  been 
spared  to  your  dear  family,  but  to  your  loving  sister. 
Fifty  years  married,  my  dear  brother.  How  time  flies! 
It  seems  but  a  little  while  since  we  were  children  together 
in  the  dear  old  home,  and  as  I  left  before  you,  I  can  never 
forget  how  my  heart  ached  at  leaving  you  behind.  How 
kind  has  "our  Father"  been  in  giving  us  loving  homes 
of  our  own,  though  the  dear  home  of  our  childhood  can 
never  be  forgotten. 

With  congratulations  we  invoke  that  Father's  blessing, 
and  pray  that  your  lives  may  yet  long  be  spared,  and  that 
love  and  happiness,  which  are  now  so  precious  in  your 
last  days,  may  continue  until  you  are  called  to  the  heav- 
enly home.     I  am 

Your  most  loving  sister, 

Eliza  S.  Jewett. 


692  John  St.,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  Jan.  27,  1889. 

My  Dear  Sister — How  well  do  I  remember  fifty  years 
ago,  when  you  were  married,  and  I  was  your  proud  and 
happy  bridesmaid !  Our  dear  father  and  mother,  and 
many  other  dear  friends,  Avere  with  us  then,  who  have 
passed  away  from  earth.  INIany,  many  changes  have  come 
to  you  and  me  since  that  time.  Then  the  world  was  be- 
fore us  bright  and  beautiliil,  and  we  looked  forward  to  a 
life  of  happiness  and  success,  expecting  our  paths  to  be 
strewn  with  flowers.  But  alas  !  my  dear  sister,  how  often 
have  we  found  thorns  by  the  wayside,  that  have  not  only 


47 

torn  our  feet,  but  have  made  our  hearts  very  sore.  Now 
we  are  neariug  the  eud  of  our  journey.  Instead  of  being- 
young,  fresh,  and  joyous,  looking  to  the  future  with  bright 
anticipations,  we  look  back  and  find  that  life  has  failed 
us  in  many  of  its  promises.  The  good  we  could  have  done 
has  been  left  undone,  and  our  duties  have  been  so  often 
neglected. 

You  and  I  are  all  that  are  left  of  a  large  family.  I  miss 
the  dear  ones  more  and  more,  and  our  eldest  sister  most  of 
all,  for  she  was  always  a  mother  to  me. 

May  you,  dear  one,  and  your  good  husband,  have  a 
joyous  life  filled  with  prosperity,  and  every  effort  of  yours 
gain  success.  May  you  both  have  health  and  happiness 
as  long  as  your  lives  are  spared.  I  send  you  a  slight 
remembrance,  which  I  hope  you  will  enjoy.  It  was  a  labor 
of  love,  and  it  bears  you  all  the  wishes  of  my  heart  for 
continued  blessings. 

Lovingly,  your  devoted  sister, 

Mary  J.  Burr. 

To  Mrs.  J.  F.  Kinney,  Nebraska  City. 


Shedd,  Oregon,  Jan.  15,  1889. 

Dear  Sister — I  received  a  letter  informing  me  that 
you  would  celebrate  your  Golden  Wedding  on  the  29th  of 
this  month.  Well  do  I  remember  the  day  you  were  mar- 
ried !  To  look  back  it  only  seems  a  short  time,  but  when 
I  see  my  children  and  grandchildren  grown  up  to  man- 
hood and  womanhood,  I  realize  that  I  am  indeed  an  old 
man,  full  of  years.  Allow  me  to  congratulate  yoti  on  the 
happy  event.    May  you  spend  many  happy  days  Avith  your 


48 

family  around  you.      I  ■would  like  to  be  present  on  so 
unusual  an  occasion,  but  it  is  out  of  the  question.    All  join 
in  sending  love  to  Aunt  Hannah  and  her  dear  ones. 
Your  loving  foster  brother, 

Wu.  M.  Powers. 
P.  S. — Come  to  Oregon  if  you  want  to  find  a  delightful 
liorae.     We  are  having  a  beautiful  winter,  and  gathered 
roses  out  of  the  garden  to-day. 

W.  M.  P. 


652  John  Street,  Saint  Paul,  Minn., 

January  23,  1889. 

Dear  Auntie — The  letters  of  good  wishes  for  you  at 
this  time  are  numerous.  As  we  all  wish  for  you  the  same 
good,  we  must  all  say  much  the  same.  I  am  going  to  give 
the  words  of  another,  as  she  says  it  all  more  pleasantly 
than  I  could — 

"  '  Time  flies,'  they  say.     Perhaps  it's  just  as  well 
To  watch  him  flying  and  not  wish  to  stay  him; 
Especially  as  I  don't  know  the  spell 
That  could  delay  him. 

"  And  if  he  paused,  't  would  trouble  folks  who  take 
A  yearly  due  of  rent  and  rate  and  tax. 
And  might  confuse  the  thoughtful  souls  who  make 
Our  almanacs/ 

"  No,  let  him  fly!     But  as  he  hurries  on, 
Would  he  but  hear  my  wish,  he  should 
Take  nought  away  of  happiness  by-gone. 
Bring  naught  but  good. 

''  He  should  not  point  to  mem'rics  half  efiaced, 
Nor  dole  the  sands  of  life  in  scanty  measure; 
Time,  like  an  eager  messenger,  should  hasle 
To  do  your  pleasure. 


49 


"  He  should  bring  hope,  to  gladden  all  the  year, 
Hope,  with  no  lingering  shadow  of  regret, 
And  passing,  make  the  home  that  you  hold  dear 
Still  dearer  yet. 

"  He  should  not  change  the  friends  that  round  yon  stand, 
But  added  names  upon  the  record  trace; 
The  circle  should  not  know  a  loosened  hand, 
A  missing  face. 

"  No  thought  of  sadness  should  this  passing  leave, 
No!   Evermore  should  he  so  lightly  fly 
That  only  by  his  gifts  you  should  perceive 
Time  had  gone  by. 

"  Ah — but  enough  of  this;  I  fear  lest  you 
Should  laugh  at  foolish  thoughts  and  clumsy  rhyme — 
Foolish  ?     Perhaps.     But  that's  what  I  Avould  do 
If  I  were  time." 

With  love  and  congratulations, 

Your  devoted  niece, 

LiDE  S.  Wheeler. 
To  Mrs.  J.  F.  Kinney,  Nebraska  City,  Neb. 


Saint  Paul,  Minn.,  Jan.  20,  1889. 

3frs.  J.  F.  Kinney: 

Dear  Aunt — The  twenty-ninth  of  this  month  will  be 
the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  your  marriage,  and  I  desire  to 
extend  to  you  my  congratulations  and  good  wishes  that 
your  future  years  may  be  as  full  of  pleasure,  happiness, 
and  content  as  it  is  possible  for  human  life  to  be.  I  know 
you  have  had  some  sorrow,  and  I  presume  your  life  has 
been  much  the  same  as  other  mortals.  You  have  had 
your  joys,  pleasures,  and  gratified  ambition;  and  you  have 
borne  your  share  of  grief  and  disappointment,  and  even  at 
times  almost  despair.     In  looking  back  over  the  half  cen- 


50 

tury,  you  find  you  have  not  realized  all  you  looked  for- 
ward to  on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  January,  1839.  With 
others  I  presume  you  have  often  felt  life  was  a  failure, 
but  have  struggled  on,  and  brighter  times  have  come,  and 
you  have  been  in  some  measure  compensated  for  all  the 
severe  trials  and  burdens  of  life.  Now,  we  who  are  past 
the  prime  of  our  life,  with  our  own  children  fast  becoming 
men  and  women,  we  who  have  known  you  long  and  well, 
can  truly  say  to  you  on  this  anniversary  that  comes  to  so 
few,  that  you  have  been  a  wise,  patient,  and  good  mother, 
a  true  and  faithful  wife,  and  an  earnest,  sincere  Christian ; 
that  you  have  borne  your  trials  and  burdens  bravely  and 
well,  and  you  will  receive  your  reward,  if  not  in  this 
world,  in  heaven.  God  is  good,  and  may  He  bless  and 
protect  you  and  give  you  many  years  of  happiness  and 
joy,  is  the  heartfelt  wish  of 

Yours  aifectionately, 

Walter  T.  Burr. 

Dear  Aunt  Hannah — I  add  my  congratulations  and 
wishes  ta  Walter's  for  this  beautiful  anniversary.  I  hope 
you  may  live  to  celebrate  many  more  happy  wedding  days. 
May  this  great  occasion  be  all  you  could  Avish,  so  that  you 
may  look  back  Avith  great  pleasure  to  it  as  long  as  you 
live.     With  love  for  you  and  yours, 

I  am  sincerely, 

Clara  M.  Burr. 


San  Buena  Ventura,  Cal.,  Jan.  24,  1881). 

J)]:Ait  Aunt  and  Uncle — The  news  comes  to  me  that 
in  a  finv  days  your  golden  wedding  iinnivcrsary  will   have 


51 

come  and  gone.  How  long  a  time,  and  yet  how  short  a 
time  it  is,  since  I,  a  young  girl,  was  with  yon,  and  you 
were  in  the  prime  of  life.  Now  I  am  in  my  prime,  and 
you  are  on  the  "thither  hillside/'  still  hale  and  hearty, 
they  tell  me.  Please  accept  my  heartiest  congratulations, 
and  many  wishes  for  good  years  yet  to  come.  I  hope  you 
may  find  it  possible  in  the  near  future  to  seek  a  home  in 
this  lovely  climate,  where  you  can  spend  your  years  with- 
out the  discomforts  of  long,  dreary  winters,  storms,  and 
heat,  where  beautiful  flowers  ever  greet  you,  where  mother 
Nature  is  kind  and  tender. 

I  send  you  some  flowers  to  bear  the  wishes  of  affection 
from  our  little  group,  for  your  golden  wedding  day.  I 
trust  they  will  do  their  duty,  keep  fresh,  look  beautiful, 
and  speak  to  you  all  the  nice  things  I  would  like  to  say, 
but  which  dull  paper,  pen,  and  ink  refuse  to  express. 

We  will  be  most  happy  to  welcome  you  when  you  come 
to  California,  which  I  hope  will  be  soon. 

Your  loving  niece, 

Theodosia  B.  Shepherd. 

To  Judge  and  Mrs.  J.  F.  Kinney,  Nebraska  City,  Neb. 


Hastings,  Neb.,  Jan.  26,  1889. 

My  Dear  Uncle  and  Aunt — Accept  my  heartiest 
congratulations  on  this  happy  event  of  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  your  wedded  life. 

May  the  Creator  and  Preserver  of  mankind  allow  you 
many  years  more  to  enjoy  life  and  the  remembrances  of 
the  past. 


52 

I  regret  my  inability  to  cxteiul  my  congratulations  in 
person,  a  pleasure  I  greatly  desired. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Louis  A.  Kinney. 
To  Hon.  J.  F.  Kinney  and  Wife. 


Lincoln,  Neb.,  Jan.  26,  1889. 

Dear  Aunt  and  Unci.e — Please  accept  my  warmest 
congratulations  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  your  wed- 
ding. I  well  remember  yowY  first  Avedding,  although  only 
five  years  old  at  the  time.  If  my  dear  mother  were  living 
how  her  heart  would  overflow  on  this  happy  occasion — 
she  who  loved  you  so  dearly,  and  to  whom  you  were  ever 
kind.  May  you  live  to  enjoy  your  diamond  wedding,  is 
the  sincere  w  ish  of 

Your  affectionate  niece, 

Abbie  B.  Spenny. 
To  Hon.  J.  F.  Kinney  and  Wife. 


Buffalo,  X.  Y.,  Jan.  18,  1889. 

DeaFv  Aunt  Hannah — Ever  since  I  heard  through 
Auntie  Burr  that  you  were  soon  to  celebrate  your  "Golden 
AVedding,"  it  has  been  my  intention  to  write  you  my  con- 
gratulations, as  distance  prevents  my  giving  thorn  in  per- 
son, as  I  would  greatly  prefer.  It  is  certainly  an  event 
which  is  rare,  and  I  trust  it  may  be  to  you  a  sweet  and 
luvinir  commemoration  of  the  wedding  day  of  vour  voutli. 
J  had  the  pleasure  last  week,  January  9tii,  of  celebrating 
my  fifth  anniversary,  but  1  cannot  hope  ever  to  reach  the 


53 

golden  period.  I  trust,  dear  Auntie,  the  season  will  be 
one  of  joy  to  you  and  yours,  and  that  your  last  days  may 
be  your  best  days.  I  would  that  my  darling  mother  might 
have  been  spared  to  rejoice  with  you.  Now  you  must 
gratify  a  woman's  curiosity  and  write  me  after  the  great 
event  shall  have  passed,  and  tell  me  all  about  it.  I  am  going 
to  send  a  little  remembrance  along  with  my  letter,  just  to 
show  that  I  remember  you  with  love.  My  husband  joins 
me  in  congratulating  you  and  Uncle  Kinney,  and  hoping 
that  you  may  enjoy  health  and  prosperity  all  the  rest  of 
your  days, 

I  remain  your  loving  niece, 

Mettie  Buxton  Holmes. 
To  Mrs.  J.  F.  Kinney. 


Batavia,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  22,  1889. 

Dear  Aunt  Hannah — Sister  Em  and  I  are  most 
happy  to  extend  our  congratulations  to  you  on  this  unusual 
occasion.  So  few  are  spared  to  enjoy  so  many  years  that 
it  seems  like  a  special  blessing  from  the  "Giver  of  all 
good  gifts"  to  you  and  your  children.  To  such  a  devoted 
mother  as  you  have  always  been  only  praise  and  thanks- 
giving can  be  offered  by  them.  Yea,  they  shall  rise  up 
and  call  you  blessed.  How  I  wish  our  dear  mother  could 
be  here  to  rejoice  with  you,  and  she  may  be,  for  I  often 
think  she  may  be  watching  and  guarding  us  from  on  high, 
when  we  know  it  not. 

We  send  you  some  little  gifts  as  a  token  of  our  love  to 
you,  and  hope  you  will  accept  them  as  such. 
8 


54 

With  wislics  i'or  licavcn's  choicest  blessings  to  rest  on 
you  and  yours,  I  am 

Most  faithfully, 

Fanny  J.  Buxton. 


Western  Union  Telegraph  Co. 

[Telegram] 
From  Hon.  Benton  J.  Hall,  U.  S.  Comm'r  of  Patents. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  29,  1889. 

3Irs.  Julian  3Ietcalf,  Nebr'oska  City: 

Through  you  Louise  and  I  extend  to  Uncle  Kinney  and 

Aunt  Hannah  congratulations  on  their  fiftieth  anniversary. 

May  peace  and  comfort  attend  them  always  through  many 

years  to  come. 

Benton  J.  Hall. 


50  E.  126th  St.,  New  York,  Jan.  27,  1889. 

Judge  and  Mrs.  J,  F.  Kinney : 

My  Dear  Cousins — I  gladly  avail  myself  of  this  op- 
portunity to  send  a  word  of  kindly  greeting  and  of  warm 
congratulations  to  you  upon  the  enjoyment  of  your  Golden 
Wedding  day. 

It  is  granted  to  but  few  to  reach  that  milestone  in  life, 
and  I  am  glad  you  are  among  the  chosen  and  fortunate 
ones.  I  congratulate  you  and  yours  upon  the  glad  event, 
and  permit  mc  to  hope  most  sincerely  that  yet  many 
golden  day.s  and  years  may  be  added  to  your  fifty  years  of 
wedded  life,  and  that  happiness,  health,  and  prosperity  may 
be  granted  you. 


55 

I  think  I  have  never  seen  you,  though  my  father  used 
often  to  speak  of  you  and  your  family. 

As  you  know,  I  have  been  engaged  for  several  years  in 
collecting  together  the  names  of  the  descendants  of  our 
Grandfather,  Rev.  Thomas  Brockway,  and  I  take  great 
pleasure  in  sending  you  the  result.  One  copy  is  for  you, 
and  the  other  for  Mrs.  Metcalf. 

I  wish  the  genealogy  were  more  extended  and  perfect. 

I  wish  we  could  see  you  in  our  home  here,  and  when 
you  visit  New  York  we  shall  expect  that  our  home  will  be 
your  home. 

Again  I  ask  you  to  accept  our  heartfelt  congratulations 
and  very  best  wishes. 

Sincerely  and  affectionately  yours, 

A.  N.  Brock  WAY. 


Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  Jan.  29,  1889. 
Dear  Cousin — I  was  very  thankful  to  hear  from  you, 
as  it  brought  to  mind  many  interesting  reminiscences  of 
the  past.  How  strange  it  seems  to  look  back  fifty  years 
to  our  acquaintance  in  Marysville,  and  the  many  changes 
that  have  taken  place  during  that  time.  How  few  of 
those  who  were  our  associates  are  now  living.  Of  my 
father's  family  there  arc  only  three  left.  Father,  Lathrop, 
and  William  died  here,  and  their  children  are  now  doing 
the  work  that  we  were  doing  fifty  years  ago.  I  will  not 
go  into  details  of  my  family,  which  naturally  is  a  very 
interesting  one  to  me,  but  if  I  could  sit  down  with  you 
for  a  long,  quiet  talk,  what  an  unspeakable  pleasure  it 
would   be  to  review  the  history  connected   with   bi)th   our 


56 

lives.  I  cannot  realize  that  you  have  been  married  fifty 
years.  For  several  years  I  have  not  known  much  of"  your 
past  life,  but  have  often  thought  of  you  and  many  inci- 
dents connected  witli  your  history,  of  which  I  would  like 
to  know  more. 

I  take  great  pleasure  in  congratulating  you  upon  reach- 
ing your  fiftieth  marriage  anniversary,  and  hope  you  have 
many  years  of  enjoyment  in  store,  though  life  has  many 
trials.  This  world  is  a  beautiful  world,  and  I  would  like 
to  spend  many  years  longer  in  it,  provided  I  could  retain 
my  faculties  and  strength,  which  are  still  unimpaired.  I 
am  still  active  in  business,  and  enjoy  it  now  as  nnich  as 
♦  ever.  Again  desiring  all  good  things  for  you  and  yours, 
in  which  my  family  join  me, 

I  am  most  faithfully  yours, 

Thomas  B.  Skinner. 
To  Hon.  J.  F.  Kinney,  Nebraska  City. 


Omaha,  Jan.  23,  1889. 

Dear  Uncle  and  Aunt — It  is  with  a  great  deal  of 
regret  that  Florence  and  myself  find  ourselves  unable  to 
be  present  at  the  golden  wedding.  Amid  the  toil  and 
competition  which  engross  the  world,  it  comes  back  to  one 
with  renewed  force  that  family  ties  are  the  ones  which 
bring  with  them  the  greatest  joys  and  comforts,  and  which 
are  the  most  real  and  w^ithout  alloy.  It  seems  as  if  there 
could  scarcely  be  a  happier  occasion  than  tiic  anniversary 
oi'a  half  century  of  happily  wedded  lile,  celebrated  in  good 
health,  and  with  a  large  circle  of  children  and  grandchil- 
dren present  to  join  in  the  recollections  and  memories 


57 

whicli  such  an  occasion  must  bring  with  it.  So  we  very 
much  regret  an  enforced  absence  on  such  a  memorable  oc- 
casion. But  our  hearts  are  with  you,  and  we  both  hope 
that  this  celebration  may  be  the  most  enjoyable  precursor 
of  the  diamond  wedding,  to  whicli  we  hereby  pledge  our- 
selves to  be  present.  In  all  of  which  sentiments  your 
great-grandson,  Richard  Ware  Hall,  most  heartily  concurs. 

Aifectionately, 

R.  S.  Hall. 


Richfield,  Sevier  Co.,  Utah,  Jan.  20, 1889. 

My  Dear  Brother — Across  the  hundreds  of  miles 
of  plains  and  mountains  between  us  comes  the  news  of  a 
great  family  event — your  golden  wedding.  How  remiss 
we  become  in  our  correspondence  until  some  unusual  oc- 
currence revives  forgotten  memories  and  renews  the  old 
home  associations.  I  suppose  it  is  because  we  are  so  ab- 
sorbed in  our  own  immediate  circle.  This  half  century 
has  whitened  our  heads  and  carried  us  from  youth  to  age, 
and  soon  we  and  ours,  like  all  of  human  life,  will  exist 
only  in  records  of  the  past. 

I  received  a  letter  some  time  ago  from  our  cousin.  Dr. 
A.  N.  Brockway,  of  New  York  City,  desiring  me  to  fur- 
nish for  publication  a  genealogy  of  our  family,  I  gave 
him  such  information  as  I  could  gather.  The  Wolston 
Brockway  family  settled  in  Connecticut  in  sixteen  hundred 
and  sixty,  and  now  there  are  three  hundred  families  re- 
corded, as  happy,  prosperous,  and  intelligent.  Here  is  a 
great  field  for  some  one  of  us  to  form  a  history  to  add  to 
our  libraries,  and  it  is  a  record  of  which  we  may  well  be 
proud. 


68 


May  your  wedding  day  be  one  of  golden  sunshine,  and 
children's  children  surround  you,  is  the  wish  of 

Your  brother, 

Lathrop  B,  Kinney. 
To  Hon.  J.  F.  Kinney,  Nebraska  City. 


Kansas  City,  Jan.  25,  1889. 

Dear  Mrs.  Metcalf — Your  kindly  letter  of  the  6th 
at  hand.  I  congratulate  my  honored  cousins  on  their  ar- 
rival at  the  noon  of  the  century  of  their  married  life,  and 
as  you  ask  me  to  indite  a  metrical  measure,  something 
suited  to  this,  so  rare  an  occasion,  and  couch  your  invita- 
tion with  an  intimation  that  I  am  the  poet  of  the  family, 
how  can  I  resist  the  delicate  appeal?  Please  accept  the 
enclosed.  I  used  the  idea  of  the  alchemist  at  a  silver  wed- 
ding sometime  since,  and  now  adapt  it  to  the  golden ;  sup- 
posing a  I'amily  gathering,  with  some  trifles  of  auriferous 
gifts,  etc.  I  do  not  dignify  this  as  poetry,  but  there  is 
perhaps  a  poetical  idea  in  giving  old  Time  the  alchemist's 
power  of  transmuting  all  the  wooden,  crystal,  and  silver 
gifts  of  their  various  decades,  into  gold  tor  this  occasion. 
Regretting  my  inability  to  be  with  you,  ami  with  love  to 
my  dear  and  honored  friends. 

Yours  affectionately, 

T.  ]>.  Bl^LLENE. 

'Tis  Cupid,  they  say,  who  dotli  intertwine 

lu  Love's  sweet  entaugleinent,  sweet  and  divine, 

Two  hearts,  and  out  of  the  two  nmkes  but  one. 

The  story  of  Cupid  dates  hack  many  j'ears; 
It  is  as  old  as  liunian  hopes,  toiling,  and  tears. 
Which  silently,  ceaselessly,  into  lite  run. 


59 


As  a  rule,  gods  are  held  to  be  reverend  and  old, 

But  Cupid  is  youthful,  rosy,  and  bold, 

Much  given  to  coquettish  pranks  by  the  Avay. 

And  so,  like  the  Cupid  of  story,  who  brings, 

With  coy,  playful  touch  ou  heart's  cxuivering  strings, 

The  rich  music  forth,  Love  does  not  decay. 

Forests  wither, 

Rivers  cease. 

Ocean  wears 
The  mountain's  base. 

Suns  burn  out 

And  worlds  decay, 
Stars  are  quenched 

And  pass  away. 

Love  is  young  and  new,  and  never 
Love  from  youth  can  old  Time  sever; 
Heads  may  whiten,  eyes  may  fail, 
Pleasures  weary  seem,  and  stale. 

Love  wears  roses  in  the  snow, 

Love  makes  old  hearts  throb  and  glow 

With  the  gladness  of  life's  spring. 

Turns  to  music  everything. 

Laughs  at  changes,  mocks  at  death. 
Having  all  things,  with  them  hath — 
Highest  potency  of  all — 
Power  to  make  them  all  immortal. 

When  in  that  long  ago  ye  stood 
Your  troth  to  give,  and  plight, 

Ye  wondered  whether  Heaven  could 
Send  other  days  as  bright. 

The  chastened  love  that  round  thee  brings 

Contentment  more  and  more. 
Looks  back  with  sweet  rememberings 

And  finds  the  promise  poor. 

Soon  five  years  passed,  and  then  around  thy  board 
Thy  friends  assemble  with  their  ligneous  store; 

A  decade  passed,  and  crystalline  the  hoard 
That  generous  friends  unto  thy  dwelling  bore. 


60 


And  when  thy  horologue,  O,  kindly  Time, 
Struck  quarter  century  with  its  silvery  chime, 
All  argentine  the  gilts  that  generous  hands 
Bore  to  thy  feast  from  near  or  distant  lands. 

Thus  Time,  the  alchemist,  the  wood  to  crystal  brought, 
Then  both  to  silver  by  his  magic  wrought. 
And  even  now  the  silver  he  hath  spurned. 
And  silver  bright  to  brighter  gold  hath  turned. 

High  noon,  fair  century!  crieth  kindly  Time, 
And  wakens  now  the  echo  with  a  golden  chime, 
While  from  their  slumber  in  remembered  years 
Start  mingled  visions,  now  of  Joy,  now  tears. 

Visions  of  the  fifty  years, 

Ye  have  come  together, 
O'er  the  smooth  and  rugged  path 

That  has  led  you  hither. 

Visions  of  the  flowers  that  grew. 
Flowers  by  thorns  defended; 

How  ye  plucked  the  one,  and  knew 
Joy  and  pain  were  blended. 

Visions  of  the  storms  that  come. 
Storms  of  grief  and  sorrow — 

How  you  thought  the  night  had  been 
Kobbed  of  its  to-morrow. 

Visions  of  the  lifty  years, 

Blessed  years  and  vision.s! 
Some  of  smiles,  and  some  of  tears, 

All  of  heaven'.^  giving. 

And  wlien  a  decade  shall  have  passed  again. 
And  we  returned  assemble  at  tiiy  feast, 
We  may  with  conlklence  the  hope  maintain 
That  length  of  days  and  honors  still  increased 
Shall  be  thy  portion;  until  full  of  years. 
As  full  of  honors,  and  with  troops  of  friends. 
Thou  .shalt,  as  this  life's  golden  sun.set  ncars, 
And  with  its  glow  of  golden  glory  blends, 
Wear  brighter  wedding  garments  witii  our  Lord, 
Which  thou  art  promised  in  His  .sacred  Word. 


61 

There  robed  with  kingly  splendor, 

Ineffalile.  complete; 
There  made  of  God's  life  sharers, 

And  for  that  sharing  meet. 

In  the  glory  beatific 

Of  the  mansions  in  the  skies, 
May  life  itself  be  sweeter,  for 

These  earthly  memories. 

T.  B.  BULI.ENE. 


•> 


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